Execution of All Things
by Jimmy the Gothic Egg
Summary: Response to prompt. It starts with a war, ends with a kiss, and sometimes there's something in between.


Because I finally found the proper CD for the proper prompt while searching for music for another prompt.

_The Execution of All Things_

—_Rilo Kiley_

**The Good That Won't Come Out  
**He felt so naked before her, so completely out of it that he just wanted to collapse. There was something about the warm look in her blue eyes (the perfect blue he'd never known, like the calm of the sky right before a storm, a certain blue that made you think it was all safe until you stuck in the center of a violent clash) that made him feel completely worthless until the smile crossed her lips. He was frozen there, like the ice had frozen around his ankles, keeping him in place.

It would've made him feel better to know she felt the same.

**Paint's Peeling  
**She wrapped her arms around him, tears in the corner of her eyes as she bit her lip.

"I love you," she whispered. She took in a shaky breath, taking in his scent, making her woozy. She gripped him tighter. "I love you, don't hate me."

He kissed her, and whatever held her down let go.

"I could never hate you."

**The Execution of All Things  
**"You watched them leave?"

"I'd seen men march away. I don't remember them coming back."

She smiled grimly, rubbing her hands together before the fire. "I hid beneath my bed as the men arrived, and then I watched my village leave to stop it from happening again."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

His arms closed around her, and she prayed this was not the last time.

**So Long  
**They were huddled together like conspirators. Someone should've been suspicious.

"Alright," she said. "We'll run away."

He nodded in agreement. "Then we'll steal a ship."

"Maybe an ostrich horse is easier."

"But… I wanna steal a ship."

"You are such a kleptomaniac."

"We leave tonight."

"Okay." She stood up, dusting off her skirt. "After I clean up dinner and put Aang to bed."

**Capturing Moods  
**He didn't understand it at first. The simple flutter as she glanced at him, the warmth from her touch, the sickness when he watched her fight.

He ignored it.

She felt it too.

They felt it together.

They pulled together, kissed, loved, laughed, fought, and made up, and most of all _survived._ That was it, wasn't it? Being together, surviving together, never leaving each other's sides.

Then the war was over, and they had to leave.

He was scared, when she refused to say goodbye. And then he realized why.

He didn't know which would hurt worse.

**A Better Son/Daughter**

It was a test.

Yes, that was it. It was a test, for his loyalties. A weak man could not inherit the throne. So his father had thrown him into an impossible task, and it would prove his worth.

This was a lesson, he reassured himself. A lesson he'd missed because he was too preoccupied with others well-being. What sacrifice was it to a nation's cause? Who wouldn't stand up for their country? And what right did he have to question? This was a lesson, or a test, for loyalty to one's family and country.

That was what his father had taught him.

He would be the better child.

He could still be the fine son his father had wanted.

**Hail To Whatever You Found  
**She touched the side of his face, her eyes unwavering as she stared at him.

"Do you hate me?" she asked shakily.

"No," he answered, surprised.

"Do you hate yourself?"

She already knew the answer. Her fingers wove into his short, coarse hair, and a sobbing laugh escaped her.

"I hate myself."

He kissed her, softly, sweetly, unforgiving in his touch.

"We'll love each other, and that'll be enough."

**My Slumbering Heart  
**She saw smoke and felt fire that coursed through her like electricity. His sleeping form, naked as hers, was lying peacefully beside her, and she breathed in his scent, like something wild and exotic. She felt his skin and it was really there, really truly _real_, and she prayed she wasn't dreaming.

**Three Hopeful Thoughts  
**He hated doing this, being so fake just for a bit of approval. It ate him up inside, like a disease.

And god he hated that _smile._

She sat across the room from him, eyes never leaving his form as she smiled sweetly, in a dark way. He didn't know her name, where she was from, or even remember seeing her before. He just knew that smile would kill him before the night was over.

And somehow they started talking. He found out lots about her, like that she was only fourteen and ready to travel the world, or that her blue eyes were distinctly unique in a world of amber fire, and or that her touch made him shiver and her voice made him want to kiss her while her words made him want to kill her.

He figured, sooner or later, he'd end up doing one of those.

**With Arms Outstretched  
**Time moved too fast for them, like every hour turned to a minute, every day lasted no longer than a touch, but sometimes it lasted too long, like when someone was hurt, and the seconds dragged on like hours.

"You'd better move fast then," she said one night. "If this is all the time we get."

It wasn't hard to take her advice.

**Spectacular Views  
**"The beach is spectacular," she breathed, digging her toes into the sand. "I love it."

He smiled at her, hearing her laugh less than feeling it. "Why?" He just wanted to hear her answer.

"The water is gorgeous, like emeralds and sapphires and a thousand different colors, and when the sunset lights it all on fire, and then it's dark and all you know is the sound of the sea and the foam at your feet. It's beautiful."

He grabbed her, pulling her into the sand as he kissed her. "It's not," he told her with a sly smile. "Not like you."

"What am I?" she asked, grinning wide.

"So fucking beautiful."

**Notes:**

The funny thing is, when I was obsessed with this CD last summer, I kept trying to write fanfics for it.

Now I just gotta work on that playlist thingy.

I swear every song on that CD was a Zutara song. I just had to find it.

To the internet!

**To the submit button!**


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